Chasing Dramas

Fan Xian sees the corruption in JiangNan and the power the Ming family wields in the region and decides to make a powerful statement when he docks in Su Zhou

In the last two weeks, 54 year old Qu Ying suddenly became popular again after her guest appearance on Papi Jiang's show. Her relaxed demeanor and hilarious stories took generated quite a stir on social media. Meanwhile, The Pursuit of Jade has been suffering a lot backlash on the portrayal of generals, leading to the unexpected popularity of He Run Dong for his portrayal of generals back in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Listen to our latest podcast on the surprising and hilarious popularity resurgences in the last few weeks.

After the Emperor proactively reveals that he is Fan Xian's father, it is time for Fan Xian to head down to Jiang Nan where the Ming family will make it difficult for him to take back control of his mother's 3 Great Workshops

On Mar 13, the Chinese Department of the National Radio and Television Administration held a press conference discussing the "issues" that it will tackle. The most pressing is the issue of top billing and who gets top billing for Chinese dramas. Listen to the latest to the solution China has decided to implement.

Wan'er confronts Fan Xian about his involvement in her brother's death while the Empress also seeks an audience with the Emperor that turns sour. Beyond that though, more mysteries of the Sacred Temple where Fan Xian's mother and Wu Zhu came from begin to surface.

In the past few weeks, there has been 3 main events that have garnered significant social media backlash including the filming announcement of a very popular book Jiang Men Du Hou with stars Wang He Di and Meng Zi Yi, Dilraba and a series of unfortunate events surrounding Paris Fashion Week, and the new drama The Pursuit of Jade starring Zhang Ling He and Tian Xi Wei. Listen to our latest podcast on the details and just why there's been such a huge reaction from the online community

Wang Chu Ran and Cheng Lei brought forth laughs in the costume romance drama How Dare You while Zhang Ling He and Tian Xi Wei have their own costume romance drama, Pursuit of Jade, coming up soon. Love Story in the 1970s though was the winner in late February, primarily due to the second male and female lead couple's shipping.

As Fan Xian is recovering from his injuries, rumors begin flying around the capital about Fan Xian's parentage. The Princess Royal and the Empress have visceral reactions to this news and decide to take action. Meanwhile, the 2nd Prince decides to tell Wan Er a secret that leaves her with questions on how to face her husband. Listen to our latest podcast episode everything that unfurls in episode 31 of S2 of Joy of Life!

Actor Yang Yang just started filming a new drama after a long hiatus. However, his fans are furious over a supposed leaked script of the drama. Tune in find out what happened!

Fan Xian gives chase to the assassin but is surprisingly overpowered by his opponent. Gravely injured, Fan Xian seeks the aid from his sister to perform surgery on him. After the operation, Fan Xian learns of the shocking secret as to just who the assassin was. Listen to our latest podcast on episode 30 of Joy of Life S2!

The annual Spring Festival Gala occurred on Monday to bring in the Year of the Horse. But Robots actually dominated the stage in multiple performances which are both awe inspiring and terrifying. We go through the 4 regional performances and some other fun tidbits of the show. Overall though, we think it was overstuffed and boring.

Fans erupted into chaos during the 2025 Weibo Night because of a mix up/change in seating arrangement that caused Xiao Zhan and Yang Mi (Weibo King and Queen) to not be able to sit for the event. Fans were outraged and even shouted during the evening.

Meanwhile, the overly waxed/slippery floors caused quite a few people to slip or get injured in the evening. Suffice to say, odd drama to occur on an otherwise snoozeworthy event.

In episode 29, everyone at court heads to the Hanging Temple for the Chrysanthemum viewing event. Fan Xian is somehow tasked with protecting the Emperor. Things go awry at the last minute and Fan Xian must decide who to save. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the history and significance of Chrysanthemums in Chinese history!

Jan/Feb 2026 currently airing Chinese dramas include modern romance Love Between Lines with Chen Xing Xu and heavy historical drama Swords into Plowshares with Bai Yu. Bai Lu and Wang Xing Yue are currently starring in Unveil: Jadewind as a Tang dynasty detective drama.

There are several other shows on offer but most have not made major splashes.

News travels fast to the Capital about these new bonds that Fan Xian is trying to sell. The Emperor makes no comment but instead orders the Chrysanthemum viewing festival be moved up to whenever Fan Xian is available. This sends a huge signal to others in the Capital and they decide whether or not to buy Fan Xian's bonds. Listen to our latest podcast episode on episode 28 of Season 2 of Joy of Life!

There were a few stories that dominated the headlines these week. Two female celebrities were exposed to have engaged in activities with questionable legality. Zhang Yu Qi is accused of having one of her children born via surrogacy which is illegal in China. Jin Chen might have been involved in a hit and run. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the scoop!

Fan Xian takes Wan'Er to Cang Mountain for a honeymoon but it turns into an investor pitch as he tries to sell Qing kingdom bonds in order to plug the 20mm taels of silver debt from the Imperial Treasury.

The annual voting period for the upcoming Weibo night is underway. We explain how exactly do fans stay engaged and how that reflects fandom popularity

After the wedding, Fan Xian and Wang Qi Nian heads to the Hall of Joy, the business created by his mother Ye Qing Mei.

Well known Chinese 35yo actor Tan Jian Ci was exposed to have dated a 20y/o actress quite recently. Though he now says he's single, this is his second relationship reveal in a month. 44 yo Singaporean singer JJ Lin (Lin Jun Jie) publicly announced that he is dating 23y/o Qi Qi on social media in December.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qi and Xiang Han Zhi have broken up after the news of their relationship was revealed but also when Zhou Qi was implicated with having something with influencer Si Xiao Di.

At long last, the Emperor has agreed for Fan Xian to be married! The two only have 3 days to prepare for the event. Lin Wan Er's mother decides to return to the capital to see her daughter once more but also give her future son-in-law a "present". Listen to our latest episode on our thoughts on the wedding and the political currents pushing the events along.

Jan 2026 airing Chinese dramas include: Shine on Me 骄阳似我 ft Song Wei Long and Zhao Jin Mai , The Punishment 罚罪2 ft Huang Jing Yu and Wang Chuan Jun, The Unclouded Soul 逍遥 ft Tan Song Yun and Hou Ming Hao, Glory 玉茗茶骨 ft Hou Ming Hao and Gu Li Na Zha and many others!

3 days into 2026, the Chinese entertainment industry was abuzz with the latest bombshells from an influencer "iamroosie". She claims that she has had dalliances with many popular Chinese actors and idols including Lu Han, Lin Geng Xin, Tan Jian Ci, and others. Listen to our latest podcast episode on this explosive news and how it progressed over the past 48 hours!

In our last podcast episode for 2025, Karen and Cathy go over their subjective list of the Chinese actors that were the winners, losers and everything in between in 2025.

Karen and Cathy go over their subjective list of the Chinese actresses that were the winners, losers and everything in between in 2025.

In episodes 23 and part 1 of episode 24 of S2 of Joy of Life, the Chancellor resigns from his post and leaves the capital towards retirement. However, this journey is not a simple as it seems. Fan Xian must make moves to protect his father-in-law's life but it seems like everyone has been played as a pawn by the Emperor. Listen to our latest podcast episode to learn about the pop culture and history found in this episode!

Zhao Lu Si's Love's Ambition was 2025's top Cdrama both in terms of popularity on Tencent and overall views per episode. We recap what were the other top Chinese dramas this year though we note that the quality and popularity of these dramas lagged prior years.

In episodes 21 + 22 of Joy of Life S2, Fan Xian ensures some fairness for this years Spring Exam results. However, just as he thought all was clear, the conniving He Zong Wei appears with a mysterious woman who accuses Chancellor Lin with the murder of her husband. Fan Xian must confront these accusations only to find that everyone was but a pawn in the Emperor's master plan.

Nov/Dec 2025 Chinese dramas currently airing include season 3 of the gruesome but thrilling Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty: To Chang An which has dominated the streaming charts in November. Dilraba brings us her new modern day supernatural drama, Love on the Turquoise Land alongside Chen Xing Xu. Ren Jia Lun and Peng Xiao Ran starred in Love In Crown but no one really watched it. Chen Xiao stars in Legend of the Magnate in this late Qing dynasty journey.

Fan Xian swaps out candles, water and even builds new latrines to ensure the safety of the students for the Spring exam. He also inspects the officials who are evaluating the exam papers to prevent them from enacting various cheats. However, after all that, there is still one person's paper who was swapped.

X / Twitter caused quite an uproar recently with enabling the feature to disclose the location of the where the post originated. Interestingly, that feature has been a staple of all Chinese social media apps for a few years. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the 2 main unique features of Chinese social media application that meant a completely different viewing and engagement experience between posters and viewers. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The spring exams start under Fan Xian's watch and there are plenty of traps he has to watch out for.

We're back with more movie gossip and tea! The 2025 Golden Rooster Awards were recently held and there was a huge uproar with the winners. Meanwhile, Zootopia 2 is poised be a juggernaut in China but fans are deeply disappointed with the newly announced cast of voice actors. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the latest news and drama about these movies!

Fan Xian ultimately decides to fight for fairness at this year's imperial entrance exam which goes against years of unspoken norms. He asks the Emperor to be his shield for his endeavor and starts to enact his plan

In our latest In the Know episode, we discuss the latest scandals surrounding famed Hong Kong Director Wong Kar-Wai and potential plagiarism during the creation of the 2023 hit drama Blossoms Shanghai. Actress Bai Bai He also caused quite a stir for her cryptic posts during the Tokyo Film Festival. Listen to hear Karen and Cathy latest gossip about these events!

Right now, there is a plethora of Chinese male idol led costume dramas. Gong Jun leads Blood River, Luo Yun Xi leads Whispers of Fate and Cheng Yi leads Sword and Beloved. There are several other dramas we highlight for Oct/Nov 2025 airing Chinese dramas!

In episode 17 of Season 2 of Joy of Life, Fan Xian investigates the new crop of scholars that are preparing themselves for the imperial entrance exams. He uncovers the blatant corruption throughout the process and finds himself the recipient of many bribes as a proctor of the exam. He must decide if there's anything that can be done. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the fun pop culture references found in this episode!

We're moving away from fashion to talk about the top headlines of the past few weeks! 19 year old Rong Zi Shan made a name for himself and not in a good way as he was summoned by police about his physical altercation towards his girlfriend. Hong Kong Actor William Chan announced a surprise baby boy with supermodel He Sui. There's potential martial troubles with Dou Xiao and Laurinda Ho only two years after there multi-million dollar wedding in Bali. Listen to our latest podcast episode as we discuss these events!

In episode 16 of S2 of Joy of Life, Fan Xian is interrupted by a gang of young aristocrats seeking revenge for the closure of Bao Yue Lou in the name of the 3rd Prince. He waves them off as petty challengers. The Emperor appoints Fan Xian as a new overseer for the upcoming imperial civil service exams, which poses new challenges for Fan Xian. Listen to our latest podcast episode on the history and behind the scenes discussion on this episode!

Vogue China's Forces In Fashion Gala in Shanghai didn't necessarily wow on the fashion side but had plenty of conversation topics both pre and post event. Liu Yi Fei wowed on the red carpet while actress Zhong Chu Xi is currently being blasted online for her position in a group photo.